Poverty and child maltreatment: a systematic review

ABSTRACTPoverty has long been indicated as a risk factor for child maltreatment. This review aims to synthesize the existing literature regarding the relationship between income-level poverty and child maltreatment in the United States. Of the 27 studies included, approximately 40% measured poverty using only income indicators, and 71% measured child maltreatment using administrative data. While the type of child maltreatment varied across studies, the associations generally revealed that higher income decreased the risk of child maltreatment, or families living in poverty had a higher risk of child maltreatment. The current study proposed several child welfare-related implications based on the findings.KEYWORDS: Povertychild maltreatmentsystematic reviewincomewelfare benefit Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Because some studies used more than two indicators to measure child maltreatment, the total n and estimated percentage may not equal the total number of records screened for analysis (N = 27).2. Most studies reported more than one finding, so the total n and percentage may not be summed to 27 and exceed 100%.Additional informationNotes on contributorsJinyung KimJinyung Kim is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the University of Maryland, School of Social Work. Jinyung is currently part of the Child Welfare Accountability Act project led by Dr. Haksoon Ahn, which includes Child and Family Services Review, Integrated Practice Model, and Continuous Quality Improvement. Her research interests are two-fold, public health in social work and child welfare, including safety, well-being, and permanency. Her research interests range from substance use, cyberbullying, child maltreatment, and child protective services using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Jinyung received her MA and PhD in social work and BA in international studies at Ewha Womans University, South Korea.Yoonzie ChungYoonzie is a doctoral student at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work. Prior to joining her PhD program, Yoonzie worked as an assistant manager at SK Energy, Korea for 6 years as responsible as a project leader for a donation program targeting 4,000 Community Child Centers for children from low-income households. Her research interests focus on child maltreatment prevention with an emphasis on neighborhood. Her research interests include parenting, low-income households, poverty/inequality, and policy effects on child wellbeing. Yoonzie received her MSW from Ohio State University and BA in Economics at Ewha Womans University, South Korea.Haksoon AhnHaksoon Ahn is an Associate Professor with the University of Maryland, School of Social Work. Her research interests include child and family welfare and advanced quantitative analysis utilizing large-scale datasets. As a principal investigator, Haksoon has been leading a range of research projects funded by the Maryland Department of Human Resources Social Services Administration, such as the statewide evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of child welfare services and policies, Child and Family Services Review (CFSR), and quality assurance and continuous improvement plan for child welfare. Haksoon received her MA and PhD in Social Policy from Brandeis University, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, and BA and MSW from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea.